Obama intervened on God, Jerusalem platform language

By REID J. EPSTEIN

09/05/2012 06:44 PM EDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – President Obama ordered his staff to have the Democratic Party’s platform language changed to include God and affirm Jerusalem as the proper capital of Israel, a campaign source said Wednesday.

Obama ordered his staff to make the change, the source said, and Democrats followed by restoring language on both on a floor vote. The changes happened after Republicans seized on both to attack the party.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the convention’s chairman, held three voice votes on the matter, the first two of which failed. The crowd booed the third when Villaraigosa declared the change was approved by a two-thirds majority.

The move on Jerusalem, a city claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians, puts the Democratic Party’s platform in direct opposition to longstanding U.S. policy on Jerusalem, which has been that all “final status issues” be left to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Obama's involvement in the platform change was first reported by The Associated Press.